Tales of things eaten & made in Brooklyn and beyond

masala chai.

We fell in love with masala chai in India. How could we not? Tiny thimbles of the milky tea are dolled out on almost every street corner, the makeshift cups warm in your hands, a creamy film — the telltale sign of good milk (likely from the cow lolling beside you!) — forming across the top before even touching your lips. Nowhere have we experienced the calming moment of sharing a cup of tea as profoundly as among the chaos of Delhi streets.

More than once we were told that chai is taken four times a day – in the morning when one awakes, again at 11, then at 4 and finally, before sleep. Intensely spiced and fiercely sweet, it is a bracing kind of thing, fortifying the day with warmth.

The view from our kitchen is anything but chaotic today, as we watch the snow fall, a “bombogenesis” they call it. But it is cold, and contemplative — a chai kind of day.

We had the great fortune of taking two cooking classes while in India, with Rekha in Jodhpur and then again in Udaipur with Sashi. Both started their lessons with chai, and we have been making it at home ever since.